Baseball: Ban could cost A-Rod at least $8 million

A look at the issues and implications of Major League Baseball's possible suspension of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez:

A look at the issues and implications of Major League Baseball's possible suspension of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez:

Question: What penalties does Rodriguez face and why?

Answer: Rodriguez is among at least a dozen players MLB had been investigating since the Miami New Times published documents in January alleging links between major leaguers and Biogenesis of America, a closed anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables, Fla., accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. Rodriguez faces up to a lifetime ban, with the Yankees expecting him to be accused of recruiting other athletes for the clinic, attempting to obstruct MLB's investigation and not being truthful with MLB in the past when he discussed his relationship with Dr. Anthony Galea, who pleaded guilty two years ago to a federal charge of bringing unapproved drugs into the United States from Canada.

Q: What will Rodriguez be suspended for and why?

A: If he does not agree to a deal with MLB, he might be suspended first for violations of baseball's collective bargaining agreement, which would prevent him from playing while the union files a grievance and an arbitrator determines whether the penalty meets a "just cause" standard. MLB might use a provision in the basic agreement that states: "Players may be disciplined for just cause for conduct that is materially detrimental or materially prejudicial to the best interests of baseball including, but not limited to, engaging in conduct in violation of federal, state or local law." Rodriguez could later be suspended for violating the Joint Drug Agreement. He has never been suspended under the JDA, and a suspension for a first offender is served only after an arbitrator upholds the penalty.

Q: Why are suspensions for players linked to the Biogenesis investigation likely this week?

A: The penalty for a first positive test for steroids under the Joint Drug Agreement is a 50-game suspension, and that appears to be the likely discipline for several players MLB has targeted. This is the last week a player could accept a 50-game suspension and serve it in time to return either for the postseason, if his team advances, or the start of the 2014 season.

Q: How likely is a lifetime ban for Rodriguez?

A: If Rodriguez agrees to accept a suspension and doesn't ask the players' association to file a grievance challenging the penalty, the suspension likely would be for a year or two. If MLB announces a penalty unilaterally, it could be a lifetime ban, but an arbitrator could reduce it after a hearing. When Commissioner Fay Vincent suspended Yankees pitcher Steve Howe for life in 1992, after his seventh suspension for drugs or alcohol, arbitrator George Nicolau reduced the penalty to 119 days.

Q: How much will this cost Rodriguez?

A: It's hard to put an exact figure on it until the length of the suspension is determined. Rodriguez is baseball's highest-paid player this year at $28 million. If he is suspended today for the rest of the season, he would lose $8,508,366 under the formula in baseball's Joint Drug Agreement: 56 games (the total remaining for the Yankees) divided by 183 (the number of days this season) times his salary. He is owed an additional $61 million by the Yankees over the next four years: $25 million in 2014, $21 million in 2015 and $20 million in each of the final two seasons. Not at risk is a $3 million payment from the Yankees on Jan. 15, the final installment of his signing bonus, and $36 million-plus interest owed by Texas from 2016 to '25, funds that were deferred in his contract with the Rangers and converted to an assignment bonus at the time of his trade to the Yankees in 2004.

Q: What would be the impact of a suspension on the Yankees?

A: In addition to not having to pay Rodriguez, the Yankees would have a much easier time to get under next year's $189 million threshold for baseball's luxury tax.

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